Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 280, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 April 1930 — Page 1

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FAMILY LIFE TO VANISH IN BIG NEW CITY Russians to Build Giant Steel Mill Center, 50,000 Testing Socialist Ideals. fiiO WIVES IN HOMES they’ll Work With Men; Children Not to Live With Parents. Irons, United Press correspondHit at Moscow, describes in the followtn* article a “Synthetic City” planned bv soviet theorists and markine another noteworthy attempt at creating a pnreIt communal life. r,Y EUGENE LYONS United Press Staff Correspondent MOSCOW, April I.—The Russian government has gone back to some of tiie social ideas >f ancient Sparta to create a synthetic city in which the perfect, 100 per cent social and Communal life will exist. Only in one respect will the relations between parent and child differ from the rigorous theory that the youth belongs to the state rather than to the family. That is, while the children will live apart from their fathers and mothers, ‘'frequent mutual visits will be encouraged." One of the first of these truly socialistic cities, preparing for a population of at least 50,000, will, rise on the Russian steppes, in the foothills of the Ural mountains. The foundat ions already are being laid for Magnitogorsk, on the river, Ural, about 200 miles from Chelia- j binsk. Begin in 1932 The inhabitants, who are u peeled to begin pouring into its new houses by autumn 1932, will work, eat and live in common. Their women will be treed from all household tasks, taking places beside the men in the industrial life of the new community. Their children from birth to maturity will be brought up in special children's quarters. A few of the unique features of the city when completed will be the following: Until the age of 16. all children will be raised and supported by the community itself, in nurseries, kindergartens, schools and high schools. They will live away from their parents, although the closest relations between parents and children, through frequent mutual visits, etc., will be encouraged. The city will consist, architecturally of "housing communes," each accommodating from 1,500 to 2,000 infants and having a common diping hall, club and gymnasium. Cook in One Kitchen Food for the whole city will be Cooked and distributed from one enormous kitchen. It will be provided to the housing communes as regularly and automatically “as water now is provided in other cities.” says Anatole Lunacharsky, who headed the commission which planned the city. Although there will be some suites accommodating two or three people, jmost of the houses will attain the Ideal of a separate room for every person, including married persons, Cos that privacy may be assured. "Family .’e will be greatly Changed." Lunacharsky writes. “We can even say that in the socialist city the family life of the old type Will oe entirely abolished." Expert Opposition He adds that he expects a lot of "teeth-gritting” and wild taik about "free love" and immorality when the Socialist city is started, but that such things will not. stop the Upbuilding of the new life. The city is necessitated by the enormous steel works going up in the same region, which is described as potentially another Pennsylvania. The projected works, scheduled to begin production in 1932, will turn out 1.000.000 tons of iron annually, nearly half a million tons of steel, over 700.000 tons o. steel products. It is in these new mills that the population of Magnitogorsk will be employed. New cities are going up in many other places in connection with industrial expansion.

CO-EDS IN WET RANKS Minnesota U. Girls Vote in Favor of Modifying Dry Law. Bu United Prets MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.. April 3 Minneso co-eds favor a change in the prohibition law. First results in a pool on the eighteenth amendment being conducted at the University of Minnesota by the Minnesota Daily, under graduate newspaper, today showed 108 out of 184 co-eds in favor of a change in the dry law. ARREST 28 SPEEDERS Six Others Charged With Failing to Stop at Through Streets. Twenty-eight motorists were arrested on speeding charges and six on charges of falling to stop at preferential streets Wednesday bight and early today.

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The Indianapolis Times Fair tonight and Friday; slightly warmer Friday.

VOLUME 41— NUMBER 280

Rockiie III; R ash Doctor by Airplane iIM Timm Hvecinl ... ~ ~ , MIAMI. Flq., April 3.—Knute | Rockne, famed Notre Dame football ! coach, is ill seriously here and a physician from the Mayo sanitarium, Rochester, Minn., has been ordered to come here by airplane to attend him. Suffering from failing health since last fall, when he missed several games played by his team due to illness, Rockne has lost much strength. His exact condition has not been I announced by attending physicians here, but the call for the Mayo expert caused apprehensions.

SWINDLE PLOT LED TO KILLING, GIRL CHARGES Retired Dentist Branded as ‘Double-Crosser’ by Arkansas Police. Bu United Pngg BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 3.—A garage mechanic's overnight transformation into an apparently rich retired business man today was branded by police as a disguise to cloak an attempt to perpetrate a huge insurance swindle. Dr. Andrew J. Bass, wealthy retired Columbia (Mo.) dentist, was held by police, charged with the murder of William Robert Pearman. former Columbia mechanic whose body was identified Wednesday by Miss Pearl Powell, a waitress, who knew Pearman intimately. Pearman was shot to death Saturday at Garvette, near here, the victim of an alleged “double-cross-ing" conspiracy. “Engaged in Land Deal” Miss Powell said Pearman had told her that he, Bass, and another party were engaged in a large Arkansas land deal, which would bring each of them at least $50,000. She asserted he was to pose as a wealthy man and that she had manicured his nails to remove the stains of his toil as a mechanic. Pearman adopted a wig and spectacles and dyed his temples to match his wig, she said. Pearman, Miss Powell told a grand jury, made frequent mysterious trips and had been compelled to take out a big insurance policy. “Identified" as “Folta” Pearman, posing as “William Folta.” had been living at a Kansas City hotel and had won confidence of several Kansas City business men, who indorsed the application for the big policy. Bass identified the body „s that of “Folta," missing from his supposed home in Martinsburg, mo.. for seventeen years. Insurance investigators revealed the dentist carried four policies on the life of “Folta,” later revealed as Pearman, to the amount of $200,000. The insurance, according to investigators, was supposed to secure land purchased by “Folta” from Bass. Miss Powell explained her trip to Arkansas, saying she became anxious when she read accounts of Dr. Bass’ presence in this state, coupled w’ith silence from Pearman, who, she said, corresponded with her continually.

G. O. P. RANKS SPLIT BY NAMING OF FIFIELD AID

Eleventh ward precinct committeemen, opposed to usurpation of privilege granted them by the Republican state committee, today launched an offensive against the appointment of Robert Davis, file clerk in the employe of Secretary of State Fifleld, as Eleventh ward chairman. Protests against the appointment of Davis by Martin M. Hugg, G. O. P. county chairman, have been made to George Denny. Republican county election commissioner. Davis was appointed to succeed Sheriff George L. Winkler, who is a candidate for renomination and re-election.

ONCE RICH TURF PLUNGER BROKE; TWO SWEETHEARTS DIED IN HOTEL LEAPS

ft v .VK.t Service Newport, k>\. April 3 Tragedy and misfortune, treading on each other's heels, have shadowed the life of Carl Wiedemann, scion of brewery millions and former “playboy of the race tracks.” Two of his sweethearts have plunged to their death from hotel windows. His third marriage is now in the divorce courts. Race horses have cleaned him of a fortune. A term in the federal penitentiary at Atlanta stands against his record. Until just the other day the one-time wealthy race track plunger was on the pay roll of the city of Newport as a street inspector. Now, it develops, he no longer holds that job. Carl Wiedemann's life has been a hectic one. Soon after his return from Har-

LAST HIGHBALL OF DIPLOMAT HINTED POISON Latest Capital Mystery Is Death of Basil Miles Two Years Ago. U. S. IS PROBING CASE Society Leader Who Visited Him Just Before End to Be Quizzed.

Bu United Perga WASHINGTON. April 3.—Department of justice agents hoped today to get new light on the capital’s latest mystery thriller centering around the death two years ago of Basil Miles, internationally known diplomat. Some friends of the dead man are said to believe a strong poison was contained in a highball which Miles drank shortly before he died. At the time he was said to have been well on the road to recovery after an operation for hernia, Mrs. Thomas Suratte of Concord, Mass., sister of Miles, was to be questioned today by department of justice agents and representatives of the district attorney’s office in connection with her brother’s death. Sister Refuses to Talk Mrs. Suratte arrived Wednesdaynight following an investigation begun by Neil Burkinshaw, assistant district attorney, into Miles’ death. The inquiry, which has been in progress secretly for some time, was begun following reports Miles died of poisoning and not of pulmonary embolism (a blood clot on tiie lung), as was indicated on the certificate issued after he died at Emergency hospital June 14, 1928. Another witness who may be questioned soon, it was said, is a prominent society leader, well known at Newport. Deauville and Paris, who is reported to have visited Miles at the hospital just before he died. She is to be asked of the events in the sickroom just prior to the diplomat s death. Widow Has Remarried Meanwhile, J. Edgar Hoover, department of justice investigator, was reported to be in New York today seeking to question Miles’ widow, who since has married Col. Henry H. Rogers, Standard Oil millionaire and father of Millicent Rogers Salm Ramos. Mrs. Rogers, however, is said to be traveling in the south. The belated investigation is a “farce" in the opinion of Mrs. Suratte, who was questioned by reporters here. FIREMEN SAVE . HOME Battle Flames With Cistern as Only Water Supply. Battling a fire at the home of Jacob Goepper, on Lynhurst drive, near the Rockville road, today with only a cistern as the water supply, pumper company No. 18 succeeded in saving the house and prevented spread of the flames to other buildings. When firemen arrived in answer to a telephone appeal, the roof of the house was in flames. Firemen hooked the booster pump to a citern and battled the flames, conserving water to prevent exhausing the supply.

The appointment was made at the request of Otto G. Fifield. secretary of state, it was declared. Fifield now has two Marion county ward chairmen in his employ. They are Davis and Joseph Shinn, state police captain, who is Seventh ward chairman. The Republican state committee recently adopted a rule providing consent of the majority of the precinct committeemen must be obtained before a ward chairman is appointed. Committeemen claim they have not been consulted regarding the selection of a successor to Winkler.

vard he persuaded his father, Charles Wiedemann, owner of the Wiedemann Brewing Company, of this city, to stake him to a stable of race horses. In all his life, Carl Wiedemann never had been refused one thing by his indulgent parents—so he became a turfman. Then the tragedy started. a a a Dorothy rainey, a Newport girl and famous for her beauty, promised to marry' him. They were engaged and had planned a honeymoon in Europe. Then, one day in 1922, when she and Carl were at Lexington, Ky., where a race meeting was being held, Dot Rainey plunged to her death from a hotel window. Some said she ended her life. Others said it was an accident. It w T ent down in the records as an accidental death. When the race meeting opened

INDIANAPOLIS, THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1930

3,000 Future Leaders March

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Banners and flags were unfurled today as 3,000 Indianapolis Boy Scouts marched in the annual Scout parade from the World War Memorial plaza to Monument circle. Five bands participated in the parade. Flag bearers pictured here were among the leading units.

MEURER VICTOR IN FIRST PARKING WAR COURT TILT

RENEW EFFORT TO CAP COSHER Huge Valve May Turn Tide in Oil Well Fight. Bv United Fress OKLAHOMA CITY. April 3.—A wild gusher was monarch of the south Oklahoma City field today, but it may be the last day the huge gusher will defy efforts of expert oil operators to control its flow. In an area several miles square, set aside as a fire hazard zone by order of the state fire marshal, a fresh crew of workmen today made a supreme effort to capture the Mary Sudik gusher which has been spraying oil and gas over the area. The crew, clad in rubber suits, cleared the twelve-foot cellar of oil and brought up a 3,000-pound master valve of special design. The valve was taken as close to the well in a truck as fire regulations would permit. Then it was rolled to the mouth of the gusher. Work was started early, as the gusher was spouting its flow of gold into the air. As the sun rose over the ravine the brown geyser turned into a rich golden color and a series of rainbows formed in the gas mists hundreds of feet in the air.

HAWKS RENEWS TRIP Glider Expected to Arrive in City Friday. Bn United Perss TULSA, Okla., April 3.—Captain Frank Hawks resumed his transcontinental glider flight today after being delayed four hours at Garland airport here on account of fog. He made a perfect takeoff at 10:05 a. m. His next stop is Springfield, Mo. From there he will go to St. Louis. Weather conditions were good. Plans for his reception of Captain Hawks here probably Friday will not be made until after Captain H. Weir Cook, general manager of the Curtiss Flying Sendee, gets in touch with Hawks, probably late today. City and state officials will welcome the flier at the Mars Hill airport. DOUBLE ECLIPSE DUE Moon to be Hidden April 13; Sun to Be Invisible on April 28. Bu United Press WASHINGTON. April 3.—An extravanga of the skies, as Mother Nature's publicity agent might bill it, has been arranged for April when the sun and moon will appear in a double-headliner eclipse act. The moon’s face will be partly hidden April 13, while the sun will be totaly invisible April 28.

at Latonia. Wiedemann entered a horse called In Memoriam—named for Dot Rainey, his dead sweetheart. In Memoriam raced well. In the spring of 1923 she beat Harry Sinclair’s mighty Zev and the great My Own, owned by Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson. Asa result, Wiedemann pocketed $50,000. In Memoriam and Zev were matched to run for a $25,000 purse at Louisville in the fall. Wiedemann wagered a small fortune cn his thoroughbred. It proved to be one of the greatest match races in the history of the American turf. In Memoriam won, so many contended, but the judges decided ip favor of Zev. The movies showed In Memoriam was first at the finish wire. So did the cameras of the newspaper men. But the parimutuels paid off as

Flaw In Affidavit Brings Dismissal in First of Two Cases. With one parking charge dis- j missed, the fight of Albert F. Meurer. former city councilman, against the city’s ordinances banning parking in downtown sections, centered today about charges against him for parking in front of the HumeMansur building on East Ohio street. In municipal court three this morning Judge Clifton R. Cameron discharged Meurer on charges of parking in a restricted area in front of the Occidental building, Illinois, and Washington streets. Following this dismissal, Meurer declared, that to “cover up" the fact that a police officer “w r as attempting to enforce an ordinance he did not know’ himself,’’ the affidavit as drawn, had been permitted to contain a flaw. The affidavit charged parking within twenty-five feet of the intersection, while actual measurements showed Meurer’s car was parked sixty-one feet from the intersection. Demurrers Filed With this case eliminated, arguments were heard by Judge Cameron on demurrers filed by Meurer, through his attorney, Howard M. Meyer, to the charge of parking in a no-parking zone fifty-four feet long in front of the Hiune-Mansur building. The demurrer attacked validity of the parking ordinance. Judge Cameron continued the case until April 15 for filing of briefs by attorneys, but indicated he believes the parking ordinance unconstitutional. He declared he believes the streets are public highways “dedicated to the public and can not be rented out to individuals or private concerns.” In Front of Room Evidence submitted in tiie case in court today showed Meurer's car was parked in front of a vacant store room formerly occupied by the Betsy Ross candy company. Thomas D. Stevenson, attorney, entered the case on behalf of the Hume-Mansur building and asked permission to file briefs on behalf of property owners. The permission was granted. BANDIT GETS 10 YEARS Robber of Fishers Bank Pleads Guilty at Noblesville. Bu United Press NOBLESVILLE, Ind., April 3. Wilbur Ferguson, 41. Edinburg, Ind., appeared in Hancock circuit court here today, pleaded guilty to being one of three bandits who held up the Fishers National bank a few weks ago when $12,000 in cash and securities were stolen and received a sentence of ten years in prison and was disfranchised for ten years. William Ryan, Indianapolis, is also under a ten-year sentence for participating in the robbery.

the judges ruled. Carl Wiedemann lost heavily. tt tt tt THE Wiedemann fortune began to dwindle. He had twentythoroughbreds in his racing stables then. Five years later he had three mares. Soon he had none. After In Memoriam's defeat, Wiedemann slipped fast. With racing luck against him he seemed to lose his grip on himself. Then one day—Jan. 29, 1927 federal agents swooped down on his father’s brewery. They confiscated it and Carl, along with his father and eleven others, was indicted for violating the prohibition laws. The trial was held a year later. Carl was fined SIO,OOO and sentenced to two years at Atlanta prison. His father, who was ill at

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INDIAN MODEL ADMITS GUILT Makes Murder Plea While Lying 111 in Hospital. Bu United Press BUFFALO, April 3.—Lila Jimerson, Red Lilac of the Seneca tribe, whose illness halted her trial on a charge of murder in the death of Mrs. Clothilde Marchand, today pleaded guilty to a charge of murder In the second degree. This step removed the threat of the electric chair from the woman who, the state alleged, was so jealous of the wife of Henri Marchand, artist, that she influenced an old squaw-crone, Nancy Bowen, to kill Mrs. Marchand. The Indian model made her plea from a hospital bed. to which she was taken when she collapsed in tiie courtroom. Under second degree guilt, she faces a term of from twenty years to life imprisonment. However physicians say she will succumb to tuberculosis within three years. MENINgTtIs TOLL IS 108 City Woman Dies; Stricken Since Start of Epidemic. The 108th death in Indianapolis from cerebrospinal meningitis was recorded with the city health board today when the death of Mrs. Sarah Alice Feree, 53, of 400 West Norwood avenue was reported. The coroner's office attributed Mrs. Feree's sudden death to meningitis. It was the 161st case reported since the epidemic began last December.

STATE TAX BOARD RULE ATTACKED IN SUPREME COURT IN BUDGET CASE

Decision to Make History on Right of Citizens to Appeal. Jurisdiction of the state tax board was attacked in arguments before the supreme court today in what has been termed “one of the most important tax cases in the history of Indiana courts.” Decision of the court carries with it the upholding or denial of the right to appeal local budgets to the state tax board. Should the supreme court deny the tax board constitutional jurisdiction, it will remove all local tax control from the province of the state. The appeal was taken by the state tax board from a declaratory judg-

the time and has since died, was fined SIO,OOO. As Carl Wiedemann stood before Judge A. J. M. Cochran for sentence the aged jurist told him, “This is the chance of a lifetime for you to return to your better self,” Carl said nothing. a a a AFTER his release from prison, Wiedemann p r a c tically dropped from sight. Newspaper headline writers almost forgot his name. Then, recently, he sued for divorce. The suit revealed that he had married Cecilia Dooin of Cincinnati, on Oct. 25, 1925. At the time their wedding was rumored both denied it. Just the other day came the latest tragedy. Allyn King, former Follies beauty and a sweetheart of Wiedemann about the time his mighty In Memoriam

NINE KILLED, SCORES INJURED IN FIREWORKS PLANT BLAST; VICTIMS BLOWN TO PIECES Vast Region Rocked by Explosion; Rumblings Are Heard 30 Miles Away; Citizens Tremble in Fear of Quake. FIRE ADDS TO HORROR OF SCENE Nearly 100 Persons Receive Medical Attention After Disaster; Virtually Every Building in Vicinity Suffers Damage. Bv United Press PHILADELPHIA, April 3.—A series of explosions in the plant of the Pennsylvania Fireworks Display Company at Devon today brought death to at least nine persons, injuries of varying degree to scores and damage to virtually every building in the vicinity. So ear-splitting was the din that rumblings were heard more than thirty miles away. So fearful was the force that as blast followed blast men and women were whirled from their feet. Motor cars nearby were swept into ditches. A moving train was rocked. Rooftops were dislodged and window panes cracked in wholesale numbers. The first explosion came in a storage shed, central S among the fifty buildings that comprise the fireworks plant, ! used to house aerial bombs. Fire broke out and as it leaped from one structure to ; another it set off other pyrotechnics. Only heroic efforts by volunteer fire fighters, hastily recruited from Devon and other suburban towns, finally extinguished the flames that were thriving on the powder designed to enliven Fourth of July and other celebrations.

At 1 p. m., three hours after the first explosion, nine bodies had been recovered from the debris of the plant. Workers believed the wreck might yield two other bodies. So vicious was the concussion that the victims literally were blown to pieces, thus hampering attempts at identification. Only by a checkup of the fireworks company employes could an accurate death list be obtained. Fourteen persons received injuries severe enough to require treatment in Bryn Mawr hospital, four miles distant. Between seventy and ninety other persons received medical attention on the scene, in Devon houses or at the Devon station of the Pennsylvania railroad. Echoes of the blast thus were heard from points as widely scattered as Hammonton, N. J.; Camden, West Philadelphia and Gloucester. The all-consuming force of the blasts was evidenced not only by the Macabre condition of the dead, but by the following scenes as described by eye-witnesses. Men and women, running in fear, were sent spinning head over heels. Two railway signal tower men,

ment of the St. Joseph superior court. In the lower court, judgment was granted Robert B. Alger and thirty-nine other South Bend citizens which prevented the action of the state board in reducing the South Bend city budget levy 1 cent by the state, as against the original in 1928. A levy of 72-cents was approved 73-cent levy by the city. Valuation used for the original budget was $188,000,000. and later the valuation proved to be $191,000,000, which was ample to provide all budget items at 72 cents, according to the tax board. However, the citizens appealed to permit their taxes to be larger in order to test the constitutionality of Section 200, of the 1927 tax law amendment, providing for appeals from local levies to the state.

was scoring turf triumphs, killed herself in New York. She leaped from a hotel window. Allyn was a martyr to Broadway’s harsh rule that “they never come back.” A few years ago she was a reigning stage star. Elevated from a cabaret girl by Ziegfeld, she became a star. In 1921 came the craze for the “boyish” figure and her contract said she must weigh 115 pounds. She lived for months on a strict diet and finally w-as taken to a sanitarium, a mental and physical wreck. At last she recovered, only to find she couldn't regain her former place on Broadway. Her suicide followed. When his father’s will was filed provision was made for a SIOO,OOO trust fund for Carl. But so far the fund has not been created, as the estate has not yet been settled.

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half a mile from the explosion scene, were stunned and the tower itself was badly damaged. Rooftops were lifted from houses in the vicinity and thick-planked sheds in the plant itself splintered as though of match-wood. - - M Tragedy Scene Decribed | BY E. J. REGAN Penn. Railroad Freight Clerk at Dai+ •As Told to the United Press! DARBY, Pa., April 3.—'T was in the baggage ro:>m of the Devon sta-| tion when the first blast at tfcr Penn fireworks plant there was fel | It shattered all the glass in the building and tore off part of tb roof on the residence of O. T. Mot,. Laughlin, ticket agent, upstaifS. “I ran out of the building in time to see a huge cloud of smoke rising over the powder plant. People were running, screaming, in all directions and dozens were lying wounded or stunned. “A train was standing at the station and half of its windows were blown out. Another train, coming from Philadelphia, was advancing up the tracks and w r as just opposite the plant which is about 400 from the station. Nearly Rock Train Off Tracks “When the explosition occurred it nearly rocked the moving train oiT the tracks and a score of passengers in it were cut by flying glass. The engineer continued moving until he was out of danger and then stopped. Two men in the signal tower a half mile down the line were stunned by the concussion and the tower itself was damaged badly. “The first explosion, which came shortly after 10 o’clock was the worst. That was in the aerial bomb shed. It was followed by at least two other blasts within ten minutes. Fire was spreading rapidly in the meantime and the scene was one of great panic and disorder. Most of tiie killed and injured persons were employes of the firew'orks company and residents of Devon. Placed in Deadly Danger “The Devon people all came rushing to the scene and placed themselves in deadly danger in their attempts to aid the employes. “Firemen were called from all nearby towns and they carried scores of injured from the flame-swept buildings. Many of them were taken into nearby homes and treated by a squad of doctors from Bryn Mawr and other hospitals in the vicinity. The waiting room of the station was turned into an accident ward and at least twenty-five of the Injured were treated there. Add to General Confusion “Temporary shelters to cover the dead and seriously injured were secured and women and children from nearby towns were arriving rapidly to see if their fathers or brothers were among the victims. They added to the general confusion. “Some of the ten bodies recovered were charred beyond recognition. “The firemen from the surrounding towns did heroic work and exposed themselve- to death many times in their fire fighting work. However, they had the situation well in hand in about an hour and all danger of further -pread of the flames was removed." Hourly Temperatures 6a. m 44 10 a. m 53 7 a. m 44 11 a. m..... 5T Ba. m 46 12 (noon).. 60 9 a. m.,... 48 1 p. m.,... 63

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